Mint Julep
by Seven Positions
Summary: Ziva gets Tony a present. Could be read as Tiva or TonyZiva friendship.


**Title**: Mint Julep

**Author**: Seven Positions

**Rating**: K+ for extremely vague sexual references.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own NCIS

**Characters**: Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David. Could be Tiva, but it doesn't have to be.

**Summary**: Ziva gets Tony a present. Kind of fluffy. A reference to some episode that I think was in season 4.

* * *

Ziva walked into the bullpen with a brown paper bag her hands. She held it from the bottom carefully, making sure it stayed level, and smiled down at it. She was the first one there, but the others would probably be arriving at any moment.

When the elevator doors opened and she heard a familiar whistle, she hurriedly placed the package on Tony's desk and scrambled to her own seat. By the time her partner strolled into their shared space, she was booting up her computer and casually removing her jacket.

"Good morning, _Ziva_," he greeted, placing a large paper cup of coffee on her desk.

"Good morning, Tony. Thank you." She gave him her usual playful smile, shot through with anticipation as she waited for him to notice the bag. First, he dropped off the other two coffees on McGee's and Gibbs' desks, then dumped his bag and his jacket on his chair. When his eyes finally lit on the crinkled brown paper, he stopped, quirking his eyebrow. He shot her a curious glance and she pretended not to notice, arbitrarily typing in her word processor.

"'_Careful,'_" he read from the side of the bag, lifting it from the surface of his desk. "'_Do not tip.' _Ziva, this looks like _your _handwriting."

"Tony," she scoffed uneasily, not looking at him, "you do not know what my handwriting looks like."

He grinned, taking note of her obvious deflection.

"Ziva," he asked, faking incredulity, "Did you... get me... a _present_?"

"Ha! Don't be ridiculous, Tony. It was there when I got here. I did see a suspicious man in a trenchcoat leave on my way in, however. Maybe it is a bomb?"

Tony laughed loudly, then put the bag down. "I don't hear it ticking. I guess I'll just check it out later." Casually, he emptied his chair and sat in it, propping up his feet and turning on his computer. He looked at Ziva and saw her face tighten ever so slightly, but she didn't take her eyes away from her screen.

"Do what you want with it," she replied simply. "I do not care."

Tony grinned and opened a report to be finished before Gibbs came in. "Good."

Ziva only lasted through five minutes of leg-bouncing and finger-drumming before finally bursting, "_Okay, _Tony, I got you a gift. Will you just open it?"

"Aw, Ziva, I knew you had the hots for me. But you didn't have to buy me any jewelry to get into my pants--"

He was cut off by a well-aimed wad of paper to the face. Still beaming that famous DiNozzo smile, he turned and grabbed the bag.

The smile died when he pulled out the liquid-filled plastic container inside. "Ziva. What is this?"

"You don't like it?" The disappointment in her voice made him shake his head vigorously.

"No, no, I just..." He exhaled heavily, caught off guard by the gift. He gingerly placed the neon green container at the edge of his desk, staring at it.

Confused, Ziva said, "They are sea monkeys, Tony. You told me your mother mistook yours for a mint julep. Remember?"

Tony chuckled softly. "Yeah, Ziva. I remember."

She watched him through narrowed eyes for a moment, then said carefully, "You hate it, don't you?"

He caught the veiled threat in her tone. _"No_, I love it. I just... _Thank_ you. I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

"Not even any of your numerous sexual partners?" she asked, smirking. Her partner laughed and threw the paper ball back at her.

"No, not even my senior year in college when--"

"DiNozzo! Got that report finished yet?" Gibbs barked, storming into the bullpen and making a beeline for the steaming black coffee on his desk. The senior field agent immediately straightened and turned back to the computer.

"Yes boss, just another sentence, boss."

"I told you to have it on my desk when I got here, not-- DiNozzo, what the hell is that?"

Gibbs was pointing to the tiny glowing tank.

Tony smiled and said, "That, boss, is a mint julep."


End file.
